Power Supply Recommendation

[Vertaxis]

I need a recommendation on a power supply. I'm building a machine that will perform Boinc distributed computing jobs on the CPU & GPUs 24x7. Here's the breakdown on the hardware.

CPU: Intel Core i7-2700K Sandy Bridge 3.5GHz LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H-WB LGA 1155 Intel Z77 Intel Motherboard
RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 32GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
Disk: Western Digital WD Blue WD10EALX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
CD-Rom: None
Fans: 4x120mm High Performance (for estimate only)

GPU: 3x XFX Double D FX-797A-TDBC Radeon HD 7970 Black Edition 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

Keeping in mind that the GPU's will be at 100% for 24x7, what power supply would you recommend? Also, what power supply would you recommend if I wanted to overclocked the GPU cards?

Thanks.

 

[hondaf17]

3 heavy duty cards at 100% 24/7....I'd only opt for a Seasonic or PC Power and Cooling. Possibly one of Corsair's professional series.

Maybe this Seasonic:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151109

 

[Vertaxis]

How many watts? I've used some online power calculators, and they all have come up with numbers from 730 to 750 watts as a recommended minimum. I find that a bit low. But, for example, is an 850 watt 80plus silver or gold power supply enough?

 

[Meghan54]

3 heavy duty cards at 100% 24/7....I'd only opt for a Seasonic or PC Power and Cooling. Possibly one of Corsair's professional series.

Maybe this Seasonic:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151109

Nothing special at all with PC P&C's power supplies. Just more rebadged Seasonics or SuperFlowers or whomever OCZ chose as that particular unit's OEM.

And to exclude numerous brands outside Seasonic or PCP&C is silly....Seasonic manufactures for numerous brands. But you have to make sure you're getting the upper end Seasonic....Seasonic is more than happy to make a group regulated so-so power supply---just look at PCP&C's Silencer 600W MkIII unit. Pretty decent performance, but a group regulated design, a poor choice for cost cutting.

As for Corsair, depends on the power supply as to who is the OEM; Seasonic or CWT, with Flextronics producing two units for Corsair.

So, don't limit yourself to a lone brand or two....you'll miss out on some great power supplies from other manufacturers.

To the OP: since a pair of "regular" 7970's on an X79 platform with a 3960X oc'd to 4.3GHz pulled approx. 650W from the wall while playing Metro 2033, adding another 7970 and running all three at full tilt would more than likely put you too close to 850W to be comfortable, at least for me. I tend to like to have my ps with a cushion of at least 20% of rated capacity while loaded. And I don't think I'd be comfortable with only an 850W unit.

I'd look into a Seasonic X1050 or X1250 or the Corsair HX1050W or the AX1200i if you've got the $$$. So far, have yet to see a comparable PCP&C unit do as well electrically as the mentioned Seasonics or Corsairs. (The Seasonic X1250 managed some of the best voltage regulation JonnyGuru's testing has ever seen, and the Corsair AX1200i darned near did as well----under 1% regulation, impressive!)

 

[lehtv]

How many watts? I've used some online power calculators, and they all have come up with numbers from 730 to 750 watts as a recommended minimum. I find that a bit low. But, for example, is an 850 watt 80plus silver or gold power supply enough?

Any PSU from a reputable manufacturer with the necessary PCIe connectors will do the job. Since running the PC at 100% 24/7 will consume something like 600-700W continuously, I would go for an efficient 1000W unit. Technically 850W would be enough but 1000W is safer long-term and slightly more efficient because of the efficiency curve (optimal near 50% load)

With the above considerations, I think this is your best bang for buck in the US:

PC Power & Cooling MK II 950W $100 AR

It costs so little because it's a 2 year old unit. But it's still great, with 80 plus silver efficiency, 6 6+2pin PCIe connectors and 7 year warranty

 

[llee]

I'm worried about the difference in power draw under artificial versus gaming scenarios. TechPowerUp's review of the HD7970 shows that Furmark drove the card absolutely nuts (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7970/26.html). How much of a difference in power consumption can we expect from distributed computing workloads compared to a synthetic bench? My preliminary calculations give me a recommended PSU wattage above the 1kW mark.

 

[Vertaxis]

Everyone,

Thanks for the advice. I'll likely grab a Corsair HX1050 for this build. I have easy access locally, and they've been recently marked down in price at some of the places I get parts.

 

[lehtv]

That's a good pick, depending on price of course. Given the cost of the MK II 950W, I'd pay maybe $150 for the Corsair HX1050

 

[know of fence]

To project Electricity cost of a year, fill in your actual numbers for consumption and price per kWh.

500 W * 8.766 kh/year * 0.1 $/kWh = ~ 440 $/year

Every percent efficiency difference saves slightly more than 4.40 a year.

 

[MsLuck]

Everyone,

Thanks for the advice. I'll likely grab a Corsair HX1050 for this build. I have easy access locally, and they've been recently marked down in price at some of the places I get parts.

ok, but dont spend lots of money for a power supply

 

[MoInSTL]

Seasonic is more than happy to make a group regulated so-so power supply---just look at PCP&C's Silencer 600W MkIII unit. Pretty decent performance, but a group regulated design, a poor choice for cost cutting.

I have the PC Power & Cooling Silencer MKIII, 600w. Manufactured by Seasonic. Why is that a poor choice? Because it's Bronze versus Silver? What makes it so-so?

 

[TemjinGold]

I have the PC Power & Cooling Silencer MKIII, 600w. Manufactured by Seasonic. Why is that a poor choice? Because it's Bronze versus Silver? What makes it so-so?

As Meghan said, because it's group regulated.